News
After a week of intense speculation, Christchurch’s $20.2 million Powerball winner has come forward to claim their prize and has announced he is splitting his winnings with family.
The winner, a ‘sparkie’ in his late 50s, had the winning ticket in his wallet the whole time but somehow resisted the urge to check his ticket straightaway.
“It’s been all that anyone has been talking about around here,” said the winner.
“Like everyone else in Christchurch, friends have been asking me if I had a Lotto ticket – and then asking me why I hadn’t checked it yet!”
The man knew he’d bought his ticket from the store that sold the winning ticket, but thought that by delaying checking his ticket he could keep pretending he might be the winner for a bit longer.
“I thought when I checked my ticket, I’d find out for sure it wasn’t me. And it was fun to dream for a while,” the winner laughed.
Eventually the man’s curiosity got the better of him and he returned to his lucky store midweek to check his ticket.
“If truth be told I did have a bit of a knot in my stomach when I handed over the ticket — I guess I was hoping it could be me,” said the winner.
It was a nerve-wracking moment – then the winning music rang out and the words ‘First Division winner’ popped up on the screen.
“The Lotto lady handed me a piece of paper that said ‘$20.2 million’ on it.
“You think you know how you’re going to react when you get news like that, but to be honest all I felt was this huge sense of relief.
“My first thought was ‘yay, I can retire now’,” laughed the winner.
The winner then headed straight to his partner’s work to give her the surprise of her life.
“I handed her the paperwork and all she said was ‘you’ve got to be kidding me, right?’
“There were a few tears and a couple hugs, but we had to hold it together as she had to go back to work. I don’t think she got much done that day!” laughed the winner.
Later that night, the winner and his partner sat down with a drink in hand and started calling their immediate family to share the good news.
“There have been a lot of tears, good tears. Everyone has been so happy for us,” said the winner.
“But what makes the win even more special is that we have already gifted half of it away.
“Family is the most important thing and we are so excited to be able to share our luck with the people we love most – and know that it’s not just our life that has changed.
“And by giving half away, there’s no chance I’ll go crazy with my winnings,” laughed the winner, “It’ll keep me on an even keel.”
The winner also plans to use some of their winnings to take their families on a holiday.
The winning ticket was sold at Hornby Mall Lotto in Christchurch on Saturday 3 February. This is the first Powerball win for 2018.